JSE tracks gold higher as rand holds near multi-month best; Wall Street softer into the weekend

South African assets started the week on a firmer footing, with the FTSE/JSE All Share Index advancing to 114,246 points on Monday, up 0.16% on the previous session, according to data from Trading Economics. 

The benchmark has now gained 4.87% over the past month and sits 12.96% higher than this time last year, with gold and precious metal miners among the main beneficiaries of a rallying bullion price.

The rand, meanwhile, has held close to its strongest levels in several months, last trading around R16.14–R16.20 to the dollar. The currency's recovery follows a three-month low struck in July after the South African Reserve Bank's surprise decision to hold interest rates steady on 23 July. 

Softer US economic data in recent sessions has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause its own rate-hiking cycle, weakening the dollar and boosting demand for higher-yielding emerging-market assets such as the rand. Easing oil prices have added further support by tempering local inflation concerns, while inflows from offshore investors into South African stocks and bonds have also underpinned sentiment.

Spot gold extended its advance into the new week, trading above $4,400 an ounce and within reach of recent record territory, as continued safe-haven demand amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East kept buyers engaged.

Turning to international markets, Wall Street closed out the week on a softer note on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 107.46 points, or 0.20%, to 53,732; the S&P 500 eased 13.26 points, or 0.17%, to 7,785; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 73.86 points, or 0.28%, to 26,729, according to a closing recap published by Investrade. The Russell 2000 bucked the trend, adding 0.51% to close at 3,068. The pullback followed weaker-than-expected US consumer sentiment data and the steepest monthly drop in retail sales in more than a year, which took some shine off optimism that the Federal Reserve might hold rates steady.

Asian markets opened the new week in mixed fashion on Monday. Hong Kong led early gains, with Hang Seng futures climbing 0.6%, while Japanese equities were split – the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.13% in intraday trade even as the broader Topix slipped 0.45%, CNBC-TV18 reported via TradingView. South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday. Traders across the region were said to be treading cautiously as they awaited progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though US index futures ticked higher on the day, suggesting sentiment was stabilising rather than deteriorating further.

In commodities, Brent crude added as much as 0.5% to touch $89 a barrel before easing back, building on a near-6% surge the previous week, as markets weighed the scheduled end of the Lebanon ceasefire. West Texas Intermediate had shown little change at the time of posting this market update.

Sources: Trading Economics, Investrade, CNBC-TV18/TradingView, Yahoo Finance market data